I had originally planned one night in Pingyao and several nights Taiyuan. I’m not quite sure why, but as I travelled down the country from Harbin I decided to extend my time in Pingyao and cut down my time in Taiyuan.

I’m so glad I did.

Pingyao is a great little place. It has so much character! The old town is surrounded by a standard sprawling modern city, but the old town is fully preserved with its walls intact.

I’ve been rather reluctant to write about my 2015 plans. For all that I love making plans like a crazy person, sometimes planning trips that I won’t be able to take for years rather than doing something practical (I’m running for the title of queen procrastinator), I also often change my plans if I feel like it.

While googleing random stuff do around the world and pondering whether or not I should add it the official bucket list or not (you know instead of doing lesson planning for my four year olds) I have frequently seen Mt Huashan listed as one of the most dangerous hikes in the world if not the most dangerous hike in the world.

The Yangtze River is possibly one of the most famous rivers in the world. It is the third largest river in the world, and about a third of China’s population lives along it. The river has been instrumental in the development of the Chinese people.

Best

I’ve done some pretty cool things this year. Some of my favourites are:

Standing looking out at NamtsoLake

Namtso Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. It was so lovely and clean there – in contrast to the busy, crowded cities of China that I had been frequenting. The mountains were beautiful as well – many were completely covered in snow down to ground level. I also loved the prayer flags that were dotted around the rocks like little reminders of the human history of the place.

I first heard about Heaven Lake when I was looking at which obligatory tour to take in North Korea. I was looking to go as long as possible and at the time there seemed to be two types of tours that were about 11 days long.

One went to about 5 different cities and included lots of things, another started the same way, but then cut off half way and went to Mt Paekdu instead.

In the end I decided to go with the tour that saw more places and still managed to be cheaper, but I remembered Mt Paekdu.

Standard Paris Sight

Teach English in China!

Teaching English is an awesome way to experience another country as a career break, a way to have a deeper experience of a country during your gap year, to fund long-term travel, or to simply live and work in a new country.

I’ve had a great time living and working in China for the past year and a half.

Old Meets New

Who am I?

I left my tiny home town in January 2013 to travel as much of the world as I could.
My aim is to be location independent one day and evolve from a serial expat into a long term nomad.
I want to show you that you can travel alone, that you can visit places off the beaten track, and I want to give you the tools to do it.